No Boundaries
by Sweetatoo
Summary: He's in this world, she's not. She's in that world, he's not. Is it a coincidence that they meet? Can they cross the borders? Many people believe it's an impossible task.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass.**

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_Darn that Suzaku! _Lelouch mentally cursed as he ran down the sidewalk to where he usually caught the morning bus. Bringing up his right hand, he quickly stole a glance at the watch and was even more upset than ever at the thought that he might not make it in time. _Really…. I shouldn't rely on him to wake me up when I knew he was out drinking all night with the crew! How stupid of me! _Lelouch couldn't help giving himself a mental kick. He really couldn't afford to be late for first period anymore, or else he would be expelled, for good this time.

_Come on, just a little bit further, _Lelouch thought, trying to reassure his exhausting body, and his hatred for Suzaku kept increasing with every second he had to run.

Normally, he'd wake up pretty early in the morning – Lelouch Lamperouge wasn't the type to rush – and had everything ready before leaving, such as outfits, books for the typical college day, and breakfast. Then, he would leave the house and take a morning walk down the sidewalk to the bus stop at a slow pace, enjoying the fresh, cool air. That was his schedule for basically every morning and he was happy with it.

Everything went the way he wanted until one day the Devil smiled upon him. His precious alarm clock broke. And he didn't get the chance to buy a new one. He wanted to ask Suzaku to get one for him at the store, but his best friend seemed pretty busy himself with his own schedule. That's why Lelouch had no choice but to use Suzaku as his new, temporary 'alarm clock'.

One good and most common thing about these two best friends was that they were early risers, though the brown-haired teen was much better at it than the raven-haired one. But neither of them had been late for school before, and that said something. Thus, Lelouch absolutely trusted this new, convenient 'alarm clock'. Everything was fine, until Suzaku had a night-out with the crew last night, and even though Lelouch reminded him of his morning task, and told him not to be too late. "Don't worry," was what he said while grinning. "Just a little drink with the staff." Right, a little drink, now look at the damned result: Lelouch was running like his life depended on it.

Luckily, he almost reached his destination. Just over that little corner was where his usual bus stop located. Gritting his teeth, he stretched his long legs as far as they could go and ran blindly, ignoring the raging pain forming in his heart.

God had smiled upon him today, for Lelouch had finally managed to arrive at his destination on time. The line to get on the bus sure was long, but the bus itself was nowhere in sight. He was still early. And he silently made a promise that he would definitely make some offerings to the God once he got home today.

Panting as though his lungs were about to explode with his hands on his knees, he couldn't care less that there were many confused looks cast upon him by the bystanders and bus riders. What he cared about was that he wouldn't get expelled. For now, at least.

"Lelouch?" A female voice sounded somewhere from his right.

He looked up and met with his childhood friend. "Morning, Shirley," he said during gaps of breaths.

"You look horrible today. What happened?" She asked worriedly, bending down to level with his face.

"It's just what you see," he answered bitterly. "I'm going to make that Suzaku pay."

"Speaking of Suzaku, where is he?"

"Sleeping very comfortably in his futon."

"Sleeping? Lelouch, he's going to be late!" Shirley shrieked in surprise.

"Like I care. He's almost made me late as well," retorted Lelouch grudgingly, "told him not to drink too much last night. But no, he never listened."

The orange-haired girl let out a small sigh. "I can't believe you two are best friends for years, and even share the same flat." She then stood up. "But it can't be helped. Quarrels make things more interesting in relationships."

Lelouch grunted something incoherently.

"Ah, the bus is here," said Shirley as she pulled on Lelouch's arm, "Come on. I don't want to stand all the way to school."

The corner of the raven-haired teen's lips jerked up slightly. "Despite your appearances, you're quite lazy." and earned a fit of laughter from the girl.

That's when he noticed something, or rather _someone. _A girl in a pink kimono with light-yellow flowers printed in it was sitting on the bench near the bus stop. Her hair had a strange and unique color that he had never seen anyone possess it before. Natural or dye, he had no idea as of yet, but it was so pretty: A light green color. The girl had her hair wound into a bun, clipped with two pink sakura flowers. Either side of her face was framed by two very long strands of hair. They were indeed long that they touched her laps and curled up at their ends as she sat. What really captured his attention was her beautiful, deep yet sad golden eyes. They were staring ahead at a pole, but they looked as though they were piercing through nothingness.

Even with him staring at her intently like that, she never once turned her head.

Lelouch held his breath. There was some mysterious aura about this girl.

"Lelouch, come on," complained Shirley as she noticed he didn't move from his spot. "We're going to be the last ones!"

Her voice pulled him out of his reverie quickly. He looked at her and nodded. "Sorry."

Casting one last look at the girl, he sighed with relief that she seemed just like an ordinary person. The mysterious aura about her was probably all in his head. With that in mind, he stepped on the bus and it departed.

Staring out the windows, he saw that the green-haired girl didn't budge. She was sitting still just like a statue.

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That night, it was raining so hard that the probability of a strong storm happening increased to eighty percent. That was no surprise though, the weather had gone crazy for the past few days: one day it would be extremely sunny and hot and humid, and the other day it would be terribly, awfully cold and the sky would be gray with heavy rain falling and soaking its victims' whole bodies.

There, sitting across from each other at the table located in the warm, well-lit kitchen were two college teens, who were doing their homework in silence. The only sounds audible in the whole flat were the tapping of rain against the windows, the cracklings of the small fireplace, and the even breathings of the two inhabitants.

"Lelouch?"

"Hm?"

"What did you get for number 25?"

"25? There're only 20 questions here."

"Huh? What subject are you on?"

"History."

"What? You've done the physics one already?"

"Yeah. It was a piece of cake."

"Can I see it real quick?" As he said it, Suzaku leaned forward quickly and reached out his long fingers to grab the blue notebook. But Lelouch beat him to it.

"Do it yourself, Suzaku." Chided the raven-haired teen as he held the assignment way too high for the other teen to reach.

"Come on. Your friend needs help here." He pouted, slowly sitting back in the chair.

A sigh. "How many times have I lent you my homework? It's time you solved it yourself."

"But this is so hard! I've looked in the textbook and even the long, boring notes that our professor gave us. But still no clues!"

Lelouch grunted.

Suzaku frowned. "Is this a payback or something?"

"Payback?"

"Yeah, for not waking you up on time this morning and making you run, despite your underwhelming physicality."

"Whose fault was that? If you'd come home early and not drunk too much, I might consider helping you with your homework."

"But how could I resist their hospitality?"

"That point aside. You spent the whole day at home sleeping and eating, while _I_ stayed at school, learning and doing _our _project. So don't expect me to hel-"

"I didn't stay home because I wanted to, Lelouch." Interrupted Suzaku drily. "I was having the worst case of hangovers for crying out loud!"

"Not my fault," said Lelouch simply as he resumed doing his homework.

"You're not going to help me, are you?" Suzaku swallowed hard.

Lelouch grunted something, and his friend took it for a 'no'.

"You devil," groaned Suzaku as he let his head fall to the table.

"You should've known that long ago," smirked the raven-haired teen knowingly, ignoring the protests quickly following that.

Lelouch then looked towards the windows, and his mind once again wandered to the certain stranger. Without him realizing it, he was tapping his pen on the notebook, wondering if she might still be there.

Earlier this evening when he got off the bus, he was quite surprised that the girl was still sitting on the bench, and from the looks of things, it didn't seem like she'd moved at all. That aside, for her to remain in the same spot must mean she's waiting for someone to pick her up. Probably the same person who'd dropped her off in the morning, he thought. But why was she even there if she didn't take the bus to begin with?

_What am I doing? _Thought Lelouch, shaking his head_. Thinking about a complete stranger whom I'd just seen today instead of studying for the exam that's coming up next week? Geez, I must have a lot of free time on my hand lately._

Giving himself another shake of the head and with that last thought in mind, Lelouch resumed his studies and soon enough, he was quickly occupied by them.

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**A/N: **This idea wouldn't leave me alone unless I did something about it, so here you go. I hope you liked it, and reviews please? I'd love to hear your opinions.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for the reviews!

**Recchii-Re-chan: **There's a Festival Wallpaper that I saw on theotaku(dot)com once, and C.C. was dressed in that pink kimono, holding a fan (I think?). She looked pretty much delicate and fragile and so I thought, 'what the hey, why not use it?' :)

**muzique04: **Sorry, this is mainly LLxCC fic :(

**Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass.**

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Next morning, the skies were pretty clear after the storm (there really _was _a storm late in the night, around 11-ish), and Lelouch had no complaints. Everything was going the way it should be: Suzaku wanted to make up for his fatal mistake yesterday, thus he woke up very on time today, giving his best friend's shoulder a 'it's morning already' strong shake, jolting said teen wide awake immediately.

So now, Lelouch was walking in his usual slow pace down the sidewalk towards the bus stop, starting the new day happily again.

When he arrived at his destination, the first sight he saw made him stop dead in his tracks with eyes widening. The girl from yesterday, she was here again in that same position. The only difference about her today was the kimono changed from pink to light green color that matched her hair perfectly. Her gaze, they were still the same, still staring straight ahead at nothingness. The sadness was still evident in them.

It took Lelouch a minute to realize he wasn't exactly at the bus stop yet – 15 more feet to go - and the line was getting long. So unless he wanted to be the last person getting on the bus again, he'd better move. Slowly advancing forward, he kept his gaze locked on the green-haired girl. Should he talk to her? But why? Wouldn't that make him look like a stalker of some sort? So she's sitting there at the same spot, big deal. She's just like any other ordinary people; waiting for something or someone to come. Moreover, perhaps she needed to be left alone.

A relief ran through his body when he heard a familiar voice calling out to him from behind. "Lelouch!"

Now he had some distractions from the girl; at the very least, he needed that. So, quickly turned around on his heels, he said with a smile. "Morning, Shirley."

His childhood friend looked him up and down, then grinned knowingly. "Suzaku woke you up on time?"

"Ah. That's his job anyway. That is, until I get a new alarm clock."

"Jeez, you shouldn't rely on him too much like that. What if the same thing like yesterday happens again? You know full well you couldn't afford to miss a class anymore." Shirley said as she started walking beside him towards the bus stop.

"Yes, I'm aware of that," Lelouch heaved a small sigh. "But it can't be helped with the all the busy schedules. Especially now the exams are coming up, I don't think I have time to even breathe."

"Your jokes are never funny."

"But I'm planning to get one soon. Maybe ordering online would be the best option."

"I'm glad to hear that," Shirley smiled brightly at him. She apparently didn't want her best friend get kicked out of school because of another tardy.

As she went on about their updated schedules and how annoying some of their professors had become nowadays, Lelouch remained silent, only offering a nod of the head when needed. His concentration, again, was drawn towards the mysterious girl. She's just sitting there, very still. And if it weren't for the risings and fallings of her chest, he would have been super duper sure that she was a mere statue.

His dark eyebrows knitted together; how could someone stay like that as if their surroundings had no affects on them? Even with all the noise in the early morning –mainly the chatting of people – she never once moved, or at least showed some curiosity. And that really aroused his interest, regarding whether she's a robot or human.

_Wait, what am I doing again? _He thought, giving himself a mental shake of the head. _Since when did I develop a habit of minding strangers' business so much like that? What a waste of energy._

"Lelouch, are you even listening?" Asked Shirley after a while.

"Hm?" He turned around with a questioning look and met with her impatient face.

"Don't tell me you haven't heard a word I was saying," she said, sighing, "seriously, sometimes you can be pretty absent-minded."

"Sorry," he uttered quickly, "what was it that you said?"

"Never mind, I'll tell you later; it's not utmost important anyway. Look, our bus is here."

And then she quickly grabbed his arm, dragging him on it, ignoring his protests completely.

Lelouch had only a mere second to steal the glance at the girl before she was out of sight. He silently hoped she'd be gone by the time he got off the bus this evening. About her always being there sort of made him worry and less concentrate on everything around him, which wasn't a really good thing.

(That evening)

"Lelouch, hurry up. What are you doing?" Shirley called out, looking behind her and found her friend rooted to the spot.

If possible, his violet eyes widened triple-sizes their original size with slightly parted lips as he stared straight ahead at the same familiar sight. The only reasonable explanation for this was that the green-haired girl was still sitting on that bench, in that same pose, despite the biting chills of late evening.

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**A/N: **Like always, I hope you liked this chapter as well, and thanks for reading. Please keep those reviews coming, they are all absolutely loved!


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you for the reviews!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass.**

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_Suzaku,_

_I have to turn in some papers today, so I have to be at school early. Don't be surprised if you didn't find me still sleeping in my futon. Your lunchbox is ready, on the table like usual. See you at school later._

_P.S: When you go to work today, stop by the market to get some milk and eggs. We're running out of them.  
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_Lelouch._

That should do it, Lelouch thought. Picking up the note, he stuck it to the refrigerator door. Then, he grabbed his own lunch in one hand while the other held his backbag. Giving one last look at the note to make sure he got everything down, he took his leave.

_Would she still be there? What if she isn't? More importantly, why am I even doing this? This is totally none of my business, _thought Lelouch mentally. One hand was brought up to ruffle his always-smooth-and-perfect hair, trouble was evident on his face.

Somehow, there was something about the girl that made him feel pity. The way she looked, so depressed and lonely. The way she never showed any interest in her surroundings. All of them made her seem like a loner, and it caused his heart to ache a bit at that thought.

Last night in bed, a thought occurred to him. What if she was disowned by her parents because of something she did, and now she has nowhere to go? What if her punishment was to sit there until she's frozen to death? With those little images running in mind, Lelouch couldn't help feeling pity for her, and he'd made up his mind to talk to her, to be her friends at least to save her from the horrible loneliness.

To be honest, he didn't really expect her to be there. At least not this early in the morning. But he wouldn't be disappointed if she truly weren't. His original plan was to take the six o'clock bus to get to school; he _did_ have some papers to turn in.

_Unbelievable, _he thought weakly when the bus stop was in sight. _She's here! I can't believe it…_

There, sitting on the bench with her hands folded elegantly on her laps was the same girl from two days ago. Still that same hairstyle, her kimono had a dark-blue color this time, and her eyes still showed that sadness and loneliness in them.

Lelouch couldn't help wondering how long she had been sitting there or when she got there.

Slowly walking towards his destination with his gaze glued to the girl, he only stopped when he was standing beside the bench. It felt cold.

_OK, here goes nothing. _He slowly cleared his throat and opened his mouth. "Hm, morning Miss."

She didn't budge as though she hadn't heard him.

Raising one eyebrow quizzically, he tried again, believing her mind was somewhere else and not that she's ignoring him. "Morning to you Miss."

Finally, she slowly turned her head upwards and her golden orbs focused on his face. "You talking to me?" She asked. Her voice was so soft and sounded angelic, despite her cold appearances.

Lelouch looked about him then turned back to her, smiling. "Well, doesn't seem like there's anyone around here except us. May I sit down?"

She stared at him emotionlessly for a full minute, and nodded.

"Thank you," Lelouch said, sitting himself down.

The girl then quickly took an interest back at the pole ahead again, leaving the raven-haired teen wonder what's so interested about it. That point aside, he knew he's the one who's supposed to strike the conversation first. That was part of the reason why he's here so early today, to get to know her. But what should he say?

"Beautiful day, isn't it? It's always like this after a storm, don't you agree?" He said.

The deep golden orbs of the young girl traveled up to the skies, and she nodded once again.

"I love sunny days. There're so many things you can do, and you don't especially have to walk in mud and puddles to get to somewhere." He chuckled.

"I like rainy days," the girl commented monotonously.

"Eh? Why is that?"

"I don't know. It just gives me this special feeling, and I feel at ease whenever I see it rain."

"But rainy days are for depressing people only. And for a young girl like you to feel that…."

"It suits me."

Lelouch nodded as if he understood it, though in fact he had no idea why she would prefer rainy seasons, but he decided not to push it any further. The two teens – she looked as though she was only seventeen, one year younger than he was – sat still, staring ahead at the falling leaves of the trees; seemed like autumn was coming soon.

At last, Lelouch broke the silence. "Ah, excuse my rudeness, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Lelouch Lamperouge," he said as one hand was held out.

The girl looked down at it and for a split second, he thought she's not going to do anything, and was about to withdraw when she suddenly took his hand in hers, and replied. "I'm C.C."

"C.C.? How interesting you only go by initials." He commented warmly.

"My real name was hard to pronounce, and it's been so long that I'd forgotten it."

"How could someone ever forget their names?" He asked in wonder.

"Besides, my name… It bears some sad memories that I don't want to recall."

As if on cue, a gust of wind blew past them, causing Lelouch to shudder even though he's under the protection of his leather jacket from the cold. Choosing that moment to change the subject, he said, "How freezing. How long have you been sitting here?"

"A long time now."

Lelouch stared at her. "Sorry for my rudeness, but I've seen you sitting at this same place two days ago, and you didn't even take the bus. So what makes you go all the way out here? Are you waiting for someone?"

The girl named C.C. chuckled. "For a stranger, you sure ask a lot of questions."

"Ah, sorry. You don't have to answer if you don't want to. I'm just curious, that's all."

"Actually, I'm waiting for someone, but that person never comes."

"Then why didn't you go home?" Lelouch asked, raising an eyebrow.

She didn't answer.

_Just like I thought, she's being disowned by her parents and now has nowhere else to go, _thought Lelouch sadly. _Maybe I could talk with Suzaku and see if we can take her in. Ah, that's it._

"Please correct me if I'm wrong, but were you, er, being kick-"

"Your bus is here," C.C. interrupted.

Lelouch looked up and his eyes widened. He'd been too engaged in the conversation with this girl that he'd forgotten the real reason why he'd been out here earlier than usual. Bringing up his right hand, he stared at his watch as his mind did a little thinking.

"I'm going to take the next one," he said at last, looking back at her with a smile.

She gave a chuckle. "Are you telling me you came here early just to talk to me?"

It was now his turn to chuckle. "And a couple of days ago, I thought you were completely uninterested in your surroundings."

C.C.'s smile faltered slowly. "I just don't want to get involved."

"Why's that? You're isolating yourself?"

"I've already detached myself from the world a long time ago."

"You're speaking like a nun," Lelouch commented drily.

Both of them remained silent for a while, then C.C. spoke first. "I was wondering, what makes you decide to talk to me?"

The raven-haired teen gave a shrug. "Well, you seem like a loner to me, never talk, never show any curiosity to people around you. And you've been sitting still for the past few days while no one else seems to pay any attention to you, so I thought…"

"That you could try to be my friend," she finished for him, slowly closing her eyes. "I see."

"But I won't be the only who wants to be your friends," he said, grinning. "You know the orange-haired girl that always catches the morning bus with me?"

She nodded.

"Yeah, she's really friendly once you get to know her. Heck, she's even friendly to strangers," he chuckled. "And there's my roommate who is also very nice. You'll like them."

The girl looked at him emotionlessly, and nodded once again.

"They will be here soon, I can introduce you to the-"

He was quickly interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. "Excuse me," he said as he pulled it out, looked at the screen and flipped it open. "Shirley?"

"Lelouch? Oh I'm sorry, I don't think I can catch the bus today. My younger sister has a fever last night so we have to take her to hospital now."

"Can you make it to first period?"

"I don't know. If I can't, can you please tell the professor for me?"

"Leave it to me."

"Thanks Lelouch, I owe you one." With that, the other end went dead.

"Is everything alright?" Asked C.C. as she saw his troubled look.

Lelouch flipped his phone close, put it in its original spot in his pocket, and turned to her. "My friend's sister fell sick and she probably can't come to school on time today."

"I hope her sister gets better soon," remarked C.C.

Lelouch looked at her in total surprise. His violet eyes widened a bit as his lips parted slightly. A smile crept up his face, "Despite your cold appearances, you're quite nice," he said and earned a chuckle from the girl.

The line to get on the upcoming bus was getting long. Now that Shirley wouldn't be here, there's no one else to rush him anymore, and he definitely didn't want to stand all the way to school while he could use the seat to take a short nap, making up for the loss of sleep last night or the nights before. With that thought in mind, Lelouch was about to stand up when he suddenly realized he didn't want to leave C.C. sit all alone like this again.

A sigh escaped his lips as he's weighing the options. Finally, he chose to stay with her until the bus arrived.

"You're going to have to stand all the way," she reminded him softly.

"It's all right," he replied. Unbeknownst to him, she was looking at him with unreadable expression.

"Ne, tell me C.C.," he asked, "you would still be here this evening right? Maybe by then, I can introduce you to Shirley."

The green-haired girl didn't answer. And somehow, honestly, Lelouch didn't care if she gave no responses; she'd always been there, morning or night.

Bringing up his right hand, Lelouch looked at his watch and saw that there's only ten minutes until the bus came. Suzaku was supposed to be here by now.

As if on cue, faraway, a figure of a slender teenage boy with curly brown hair came into view. It was no one else other than his best friend, who was strolling down the sidewalk very peacefully and slowly.

"Suzaku!" Lelouch stood up, waving at him, also suggesting for him to increase his damned pace. At least, he could introduce C.C. to Suzaku before they departed for school.

"Lelouch?" Suzaku said, raising an eyebrow. He then picked up his pace and walked faster towards his best friend. "What are you still doing here? Weren't you supposed to take the six o'clock bus to turn in some papers like you said in your notes?" He asked as soon as he reached his destination.

"Ah, those can be turned in later; it won't make much of a difference. But anyway, I want you to meet-"

The ringing of Suzaku's phone quickly interrupted Lelouch's sentence. "Oh, excuse me, gotta take this," said Suzaku as he flipped his phone open. "Lloyd-san? Yeah, today like usual….It's almost done? Do you want me to be there early to test it?..."

The bus was coming, and within a blink of an eye, it was already there in front of them.

"Ok, got you. See you later Lloyd-san." Finished Suzaku cheerfully.

People were streaming on the bus now. Turning around to face his best friend, the brown-haired teen beckoned, "Come on, let's go Lelouch." Then he proceeded to getting on himself.

Lelouch looked behind him at the green-haired girl, who was staring back at him with those deep golden eyes. "Sorry, I'll see you later," he nodded.

Grabbing his bookbag in one hand, he cast one last look at the young girl and smiled warmly, then stepping on the bus. The last person, as expected. But luckily, Suzaku was saving a seat for him, so he could probably nap for a while before starting a long, hard, stressful day again.

"What's taking you so long?" The brown-haired teen asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Nothing," was his friend's reply.

The girl still didn't move. Her eyes had turned back to their usual spot at the pole ahead, as known as nothingness.

An involuntary sigh escaped Lelouch's lips.

(Later that day)

When the two teens were getting off the bus, all weary from the practice tests and a mountain of homework assigned for them by the professors, which were all due tomorrow, Suzaku complained as he stretched out his arms. "We're only second years of college and look at the torture they've been giving us. I wonder if it's going to be like Hell in third year…"

"Probably even worse than Hell," Lelouch replied.

"You're not helping," deadpanned Suzaku. "Anyway, did Shirley come to any of the classes today?"

"No, I haven't seen her the whole day."

"I see. Oh, remember that you wanted to tell me something this morning? About meeting someone?"

Lelouch looked towards the bench located near the bus stop, which was uninhabited at the moment. "No, I don't remember," he said at last.

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**A/N: **Suzaku's workplace is still the same as in the anime, but in this story, he only has to help with the experimental data and Knightmares and wouldn't be sent to the battlefields like in the anime, since everyone's living at peace here.

Like always, thanks for reading and please review. I'd love to know what you think, because apparently readers' opinions matter to the author.


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you for the reviews!

**sakurahanaalice: **sorry, Nunnally won't be in this fic.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass.**

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Putting the plates in the sink, Lelouch started the process of washing them while Suzaku cleaned the table and swept the floor. Today was a beautiful Saturday with the clear skies above, cloudless. Sometimes Lelouch wondered how come the weekdays were rarely like this; it's a true nuisance to have your clothes stained by dirty mud when on your way to go somewhere.

"Thanks for the breakfast, Lelouch," said Suzaku, grinning as he put the broom away. "Your cooking has improved pretty much since last year."

"It's quite a compliment," Lelouch replied grimly. His cooking had _always_ been the best, ever since he tried his first recipe at the age of thirteen: egg noodles with chicken.

"Besides, it's not like it's the first time I've ever cooked something for you," he continued.

"That's true. If I didn't have you as my roommate, I guess I'd have to eat out basically every noon and evening."

"It's never too late to learn how to cook you know."

"But I'm not talented to begin with."

A sigh. "I give up."

Suzaku smirked triumphantly. He then sat down at the woodened table, pulled out some thick textbooks and a couple of notebooks from his bag, placing them neatly on it. "I can't believe exams are only five days away," he remarked, making some circles on his own agenda.

Putting the last dish on the dish rack, Lelouch took off his washing gloves as he advised. "Don't fret over it. Just take it easy and remember what you've learned."

"Easier said than done," Suzaku mumbled and earned a chuckle from his best friend.

"Alright, I'm heading to library. Have any books you want to return?" Lelouch asked, grabbing his bookbag.

"Nah. I haven't touched those books yet."

Another small sigh. "You're unbelievable sometimes."

Suzaku looked up and smiled, "You know me. Have a safe trip, Lelouch."

"Right. Later." And the door closed soundlessly behind the raven-haired teen.

Fortunately, the flat that he and Suzaku were currently staying at was located not so far from the studies-related places; they managed to be in the walking distance, except for their college of course. That point aside, Lelouch's original plan was to take the bus to get there, but since the skies were so beautiful and clear, they had tempted him to take a walk to fully enjoy the refreshing, cool air of the early morning.

So there he was, strolling down the sidewalk towards his destination with the bag slung over his shoulder in his usual slow pace – there was no need to rush, it's a Saturday afterall – he was forced to stop abruptly because of a sudden strong gust of wind blowing past him, sending many dead, fallen leaves scatter around him. _It's not even autumn yet, and the wind is already this strong? _thought Lelouch, turning his head sideways in hope of avoiding the biting cold air rushing at his face. _This year may prove to be more difficult than the previous ones…_

That's when he noticed something, and it made his eyes widen. It couldn't be…. _C.C.?_

"C.C.?" He said aloud, turning his whole body around to walk toward her; his pace quickening. She was really there, at same spot, in that same position. Only her clothes were different; the kimono was black with red flowers printed in it this time. And she was still looking straight ahead, unaware of him coming closer to her.

"C.C.?" He said again as soon as he reached her.

She slowly looked up and a smile crept up her pale face.

"Where were you last night?" Asked Lelouch as he sat himself down on the bench next to her.

"Oh? You were worried about me? A stranger, that is?" She replied, smirking.

"Well, because you said you would be here."

"I didn't say that."

Lelouch looked taken aback immediately. _Right, she didn't actually promise that, _he couldn't help giving himself a mental kick. "Sorry, my bad. But you've always been here, so I thought that wouldn't change…."

The girl turned her attention back at the pole ahead. "Something came up so I had to leave."

"Is everything alright?"

She gave a nod.

"Well you know," he began, "I couldn't help but think about this ever since I saw you at this place. How do I put it nicely? Hm, are you being kicked out of your house?"

She slowly looked back at him. "Why ask such a strange thing, may I ask first?"

"Er, well," _It did sound strange… what was I thinking? _"Because you've been sitting here for the past few days, and you said you couldn't go home."

"I didn't especially say that," C.C. chuckled.

"My point is. No matter how early I come to this bus stop, you're always here, so I just want to know if everything's going fine at your house. If not, I could go talk to your parents. No way a girl like you can sit out here alone like this, and it's getting cold lately too!"

As if on cue, another strong gust of wind blew past them, carrying with it another group of dead, dried leaves. Lelouch shuddered slightly, despite he's being wrapped tightly around by a warm leather jacket. Glancing sideways, he saw that C.C. didn't show any signs that she was cold, and even though he had never tried on those kimono's before, he just knew it wasn't enough to keep her warm.

Quickly taking off the jacket while gritting his teeth, he put it gently on her shoulders, earning a small gasp of surprise from the girl. "What are you doing?" She whispered.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he smiled in return, "it's OK, I can handle the cold." A partial lie.

C.C. looked at him with something in her eyes that was akin to gratitude, she then nodded and turned ahead, clutching the jacket in her hands. "I don't remember the last time my family had been happy together," she said.

"It's almost like a dream that yesterday we were eating dinner together, laughing together," she continued. "And within a blink of an eye, all of that shatters, leaving only unbearable sad memories behind."

"Did they….divorce?" He asked slowly.

"I guess divorce isn't an appropriate word in this case."

"Where are they now?"

"Somewhere far away from here. I want to go there one day, to be united with them again, but that dream isn't within my reach yet."

"Where is it? I can take you there. There are many bus routes going around this city and there isn't one place that we can't walk, unless we really don't want to."

She smiled sadly. "You're so kind, but it's not possible yet."

"Why?"

"Because I have to make sure of something first."

"So, in other words, you don't want to go there just _yet."_

"I guess you could say that," chuckled the green-haired girl.

Lelouch looked at C.C. with saddened eyes. He understood how she felt, what she had to do, because he'd been through all of that himself. He's a guy, and sometimes he even found his situation unbearable. It must be extremely tough on the girl.

"We have something in common, C.C." He said, tilting his head upwards to stare at the sky. "I don't remember the last time my family had been happy together either.

"We were a perfect family that anyone could have ever asked for. My father was the head of a well-known jewel-making company. My mother didn't have to work; she stayed home and her only task was to nurture us and take us outside to the parks or anywhere we wanted.

"I'm the oldest brother in the family. My younger sister, Nunnally, wasn't blessed when she was born; she was crippled and has to rely on the wheelchair for the rest of her life. Life isn't fair sometimes huh? But that only makes me love her more. She's like the light of my life. Just seeing her smile at me when I came home from school everyday was more than enough. That's all I wanted; for my sister to be happy, for our family to be happy, that's all I wished for.

"But life isn't fair sometimes. An accident took our mother away from us, led my father down, as well as his company. Nunnally, she had stopped smiling as much ever since. Everytime I came home, the place that I used to love was so cold and dark and empty, to the point I didn't want to come back to that place anymore."

C.C. was looking at him with sympathy evident in her golden orbs. "You must feel very horrible."

"If it weren't for my sister," replied Lelouch as his eyes still glued to the skies, "I wouldn't be here." He then turned to her and unexpectedly rolled up his shirts sleeve slightly, enough to reveal a deep horizontal scar across his pale wrist.

C.C. stared at it with widened eyes. "Lelouch, you…."

A small, dry laugh erupted from the raven-haired teen. "Unbelievable, huh? Who could have thought that a guy like me would try committing suicide?" His gaze then traveled downwards. "But back then, everything was like Hell after Mother died. My father's developed a bad habit of drinking whenever he's down, thus making him an alcoholic soon after. Later, he remarried to this woman, who apparently only loves him because of his wealth and status. She's poured most of the money we'd saved into expensive clothes and accessories."

"You must have hated her." C.C. remarked in a low voice.

"There's nothing I could do about it. Father was shocked after the accident, and he probably thought we wanted another mother who could look after us while in reality, we didn't; the three of us were enough. Luckily, our step-mother isn't entirely the evil kind. She still has some humane feelings in her and loves Nunnally like her own daughter, and that was all I ever hoped for when I left home for college; someone to take care of my little sister while I'm away."

Unexpectedly, C.C. reached out her long, pale fingers and touched the old scar on his wrist. "Poor soul," she said sadly. "Please don't take your life too lightly ever again, value it."

Her touch was warm against his cold skin, in spite of the chilly air circulating around them. It sent some strange relaxing sensation throughout the raven-haired teen's body; a feeling he hadn't experienced before.

But it didn't last long, for she withdrew her hand back to its original spot on her lap, and the coldness had returned.

"You know," Lelouch said, rolling his sleeve down to cover the wound. "You're the first person I've ever shown this to. So let's keep it a secret, shall we?" He asked, winking.

C.C. let out a small laugh, nodding.

Another gust of wind blew past them, sending even more dead leaves scatter across the blue sky. This year was proving to be more difficult than he might imagine.

Shuddering slightly, Lelouch turned to the girl and said. "Do you want to go get a cup of coffee?"

She looked at him, shaking her head. "It's all right, it's my treat," he replied, smiling.

She shook her head again. "No, thanks."

"I see. Well, just wait here, OK? I'll be right back." Said Lelouch as he started to stand up.

"Where are you going?"

"There's a vending machine near here. I'll be just a second." Giving her another warm smile, he took off in the direction of his destination.

C.C. sat there, her eyes were back ahead with her hands folding elegantly on her lap. "Lelouch, are you truly…." she asked no one in particular. _No, it's too early to arrive at that conclusion. Not now, I have to wait. Giving it more time, maybe by then, I can decide….._

After approximately five minutes, just as promised, the raven-haired teen came back, holding two cans in his hand.

"I thought that since you don't like coffee, you'd rather prefer tea," he said, opening a can and handing it to her.

She took it slowly in her hands, nodded a 'thank you' and took a sip.

"Is it good?" He asked after taking his own sip of coffee.

"Hm," she nodded again.

"I'm glad," he said, grinning.

Then the two teens sat there on the bench, talking about various random things in this world, enjoying the cool, refreshing air of early autumn together.

Time passed by and they paid no heed to it.

Only when the sun was setting on the horizon did Lelouch start to realize how late it was. Glancing at his watch, he almost choked on his drink as the hand struck five in the evening. "Crap!" He said, bolting up from his seat. "It's this late already?"

"This isn't good. I've still got tons of exams to study for," mumbled Lelouch frantically while he gathered his things.

"Sorry C.C., I have to go now. But I'll come back tomorrow," he promised.

The girl nodded, and when he bid her the last goodbye as he started to run back the way he'd come this morning, she called out. "Wait, Lelouch!"

"Yeah?" He said, turning around.

"You forgot your jacket."

"I'll lend it to you from now on. You need something to keep yourself warm on the way home, right?" And with that, he resumed his pace and soon enough, was out of her sight.

"Right, on my way home…" C.C. repeated. She then turned her deep golden orbs up at the starry skies. So many stars were visible now, and bright too. Tonight was indeed a beautiful night.

* * *

**A/N: **C.C.'s real identity? There will be hints regarding it in the next chapter.

For now, thanks so much for reading. And of course, reviews will be loved, like always.


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you for the reviews!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass.**

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"Are you sure you don't want to go?" Shirley asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Sorry guys. I know I promised that I'd go, but something came up." Replied Lelouch, an apologetic _and _cute smile made its way onto his face.

"What could be more important than a karaoke party with your best friends?" Shirley said in gritted teeth, leaning in close to him. Her face was definitely something to be scared of at the moment.

"Well, I-sort of promised to meet with someone…." He trailed off as she even leaned in closer, vein throbbing on her forehead. Even though she wasn't as tall as he was, she still proved to be quite intimidating at the very moment. "Ah! You remember the green-haired girl that often sits at the bench near our bus stop? I just made friends with her, so how can I disregard my first promise, right?" That was a perfect excuse. And it was a total truth, too.

"Eh?" The orange-haired girl pulled back. "Green-haired girl? At the bus stop?" She repeated, cocking her head slightly to one side.

Lelouch quickly seized that chance to step away from her, grabbing a lunchbox in one hand while the other reaching out to rest on the doorknob. "Ahh. So I got to get moving now; she may be waiting. You guys have fun!" He called out as he turned the doorknob.

"Lelouch!" It was no other than Suzaku's voice.

Heaving a small sigh, the raven-haired teen slowly turned around and met with his friends. Putting up his hands, he said. "Alright, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you until the last minute. I promised I'd go there with you, but I really can't. Something _did_ come up, and I don't want her to distrust me. You'll know what I mean once you mee-"

"Are you feeling OK?" Asked Suzaku simply, as though he hadn't heard a word of his friend's explanation.

Raising one dark eyebrow questioningly, Lelouch replied. "Yeah. Why'd you ask?"

"Well, you seem paler than usual."

"I've always been pale."

"_Paler_." A huge emphasis on the word.

Lelouch remained silent for a second. He did feel pretty tired lately, and his skin did get whiter for some unknown reasons. At first, he thought the main cause for these changes was the almost unbearable stress of the upcoming exams, but he had to discard it immediately. He was the type that used his brains basically for everything, especially studies, so of course that theory wouldn't make any sense.

His second theory was because of the changing of seasons; autumn's coming, and it's already getting super chilly late in the evening. Just imagine how much colder it'd get once winter arrived. _Yes, maybe that's it_. _Maybe my body's adapting to the new season, _he had always come to that same conclusion.

Shaking his head, Lelouch said with a smile. "I'm fine, really. Don't worry about me too much."

"Even if you say so…." Shirley chimed in.

"Well, gotta go. You, too, if you don't want to be late." Lelouch waved at his friends as he walked out, closing the door soundlessly behind him.

"That guy," Shirley couldn't help sighing. "I haven't seen him this excited to see a girl ever since we became college students."

"Ne, Shirley," Suzaku began, eyes still glued to the closed door, "about this girl that Lelouch's meeting. Have you seen her by any chance?"

"The green-haired girl? No, I haven't."

"He told me last night that he met her at the bus stop two days ago. Ring any bell?"

Shirley put her finger on her chin, looking deep in thought. "Two days ago… when he's almost late right? How strange, I don't recall seeing anyone quite like he described."

"The next day when you weren't there, he said he wanted to introduce me to someone, but I saw no one there on the bench with him."

A long pause.

"What…what's going on?" Asked Shirley nervously.

* * *

"Here, have some," Lelouch said as he handed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to the green-haired girl.

She took it slowly, staring suspiciously at the colorful thick liquids stuffed between two slices. _Red and yellow? What a strange combination of colors, _C.C. thought as her gaze narrowed at the sandwich.

Noticing her behavior, Lelouch stopped the rummage in his bag and turned to her, smiling. "Oi, don't tell me you have never eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwich before?"

"Are you sure there's no poison in here?" C.C. asked as though it were a complete normal question on earth.

Lelouch's eyebrow twitched. "Of course not."

Giving her shoulders a small shrug, she bit down at the food and her eyes widened as soon as her taste buds finished their job. "It's delicious!"

"Of course it is," smirked Lelouch. "This is the easiest, simplest thing to make. But not everyone is talented enough to make it _that _great."

"How arrogant," remarked C.C. Her tone was full of sarcasm, and earned a laugh from both of them.

"And here, try this too," the raven-haired teen said as he handed her a bottle of tea. "Home-made green tea with a good amount of honey flavor."

"Thank you," C.C. nodded, taking it in her hands. The two teens then took their time to eat and enjoy the simple yet delicious food. It'd been a long time since C.C. had tried a home-made dish, so she wanted to cherish the moment, as well as its wonderful, homey taste.

"Do you always cook for yourself?" She asked, chewing on the sandwich.

Lelouch nodded as he took a sip of his coffee. "Not just myself; I've also cooked for my best friend as well, the one I'm sharing the flat with."

"Suzaku, right?"

"Oh? You remember him? Yeah, that guy has never made anything in his life. When we were still back home, he had his mother cook for him, or often he'd just go out to grab a bite." Lelouch chuckled as he recalled their childhood memories. Those were happy days when his mother was still alive, and Suzaku would often hang out at his house with Nunnally. They would laugh, tease each other, share the good and bad moments and seek advices. However, after Mom died, everything changed. Even if Suzaku still frequented, Nunnally and Lelouch wouldn't have the spirit to play with him anymore.

"Lelouch, are you OK?" C.C.'s voice slowly pulled him out of his reverie.

"Oh, sorry, I was just daydreaming," replied Lelouch as he took another sip of his drink.

C.C. looked at him with unreadable expression, then she asked. "Were you thinking about your past?"

Lelouch almost choked on his coffee when he heard that. "How did you know? Did I say it aloud or something?"

"No, but you got this faraway look in your eyes. That happens to me, too."

"Now that you mention it, there's always this sadness in your eyes. May I ask why is that?"

She didn't reply.

"It's alright if you don't want to answer. That question was personal afterall." Murmured Lelouch.

A pause.

"But you know," C.C. began. "If you still feel responsible for your mother's death and are unhappy. Do you think she would be resting in peace up there?"

Slowly turning around to face her, Lelouch's violet eyes widened. His tight hold on the coffee bottle loosened. "C.C…"

"No parents would want to see their children suffer for something they have nothing to do with. Your mother's death was inevitable; there wasn't anything you could do to stop it. So live happily from now on, OK? If you truly wish for your mother to rest in peace."

"C.C…" He repeated with eyes wavering. Then, without warning, he reached out his hand and placed it gently upon hers. Squeezing it slightly, he smiled. "Thank you."

"How bold," she remarked, smirking.

"Eh?" As if realization were dawning on him, he slowly looked down and froze. Was that his hand on hers? Was it really? How come he had no idea until now?

Letting out a yelp, Lelouch quickly pulled back his hand as he tried to explain his strange actions. "Sorry! It's not what you thought. I swear I had no ill intentions at all. I didn't know what-"

"Why make a fuss?" C.C. asked. The smirk was still there on her pretty face, never faltered. "It's just holding hands, right?"

"And you're OK with that?" Lelouch said incredulously.

"It's not OK with _you?"_

"Well, it's not like that. It's…" He couldn't help heaving a small sigh. "Never mind." Unbeknownst to C.C., he was smiling. A genuinely joyous one at that.

"But really," he said, turning to her once again. "Thank you for helping me realize it."

She nodded as a warm smile crept up her face.

"Have some more tea C.C., before it gets cold." He suggested.

"Hm."

The late afternoon sure was beautiful with the bright blue skies, tinted with a couple of reddish-yellow lines of the sun. There were some white puffy clouds scattering here and there; purely white clouds. Many dry fallen leaves took turn flying into the endless skies up above, but some fell back down on the teens' hairs. Lelouch laughed as he picked one up from C.C.'s bun, and she chuckled while flicking one off of his shoulder.

"I wish we could do this everyday," Lelouch commented as he looked up at the skies. "Just being together like this is more than enough."

"Do you really wish so?" Asked C.C. quietly.

"Of course I do. Ever since I came here, you're the first person who can calm my nerves after a stressful week."

"Is that so?"

"Ne, do you think we're soulmates or something?" He asked jokingly. However, deep down inside, he was speaking sincerely.

"Humans with all their emotions. They can be manipulated easily by them. They can be crushed easily by them." C.C. said, staring straight ahead. "Afterall, emotions are their ultimate downfall."

"But that's what makes us all human. That's the only proof of our human existence."

C.C. gave a dry laugh. "I guess so."

"But what makes you say all of that all of a sudden?" Lelouch asked with one eyebrow rose.

A pause.

"Say, Lelouch," she began, "do you think you can take me to this place?"

"Huh? Hm, sure. Where is it?"

"We can't take the bus, if that's what you're thinking." C.C. stated clearly.

Lelouch stared at her with curious eyes. "Why not?"

"Can you drive?" Straight to the point.

"Well, I can. The problem is I don't own a car…" He trailed off as though he suddenly remembered something. "Wait a second, Suzaku does! Although it's his company's car, but I'm sure we can borrow it for a day."

"Then it's settled. Tomorrow?"

Lelouch searched his brain for his schedule for a minute. Then the corner of his lips jerked upward slightly. "How convenient, I only have night classes tomorrow. But we have to go early, because sadly I can't miss school anymore. Deal?"

"Deal," was her reply as she held out her hand.

A warm smile crept up his face as Lelouch also held out his own and took hers. "Thank you, Lelouch," she said softly.

"I'll just make a quick call with Suzaku, OK?"

She gave a nod. Lelouch pulled out his phone, dialed his friend's number and brought it up to his ear. After a few seconds, the other end answered. "Suzaku? Can we talk…"

C.C. was looking at him with grateful golden eyes. The corner of her rosy lips pulled up, _Lelouch, I have found it._

_

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_**A/N: **There will be only two chapters left before it's all over, and as much as I want to update it regularly as I do now, I'm not allowed to do it anymore since school's starting. So, probably I'll try my best to update the next two on either Fridays or Saturdays. Sorry for the inconvenience guys! :(

And like always, thanks a bunch for reading! And of course you know what comes next, a lovely review will be loved very much!_  
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	6. Chapter 6

Thank you for the reviews and the wait!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass.**

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Lelouch looked down beneath him with unbelievable, widened eyes. He was standing on a mountain that he'd never set foot on before, staring down at the city he'd been living in since he moved here for college.

It was a very pretty sight. To be able to see all the little houses crowded together in some places while some skyscrapers reached high into the bright, blue skies in the others. In addition to that, he could make out the flat he was currently staying, along with his school and bus stop. Up here, he could see basically everything; it made the world seem so strangely small and within reach. And the mountain air was so fresh and clear, too. It felt like he was standing in a huge bubble filled with non-polluted, completely pure air.

Lelouch took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "What a beautiful place!" He remarked. Not to mention that there were tons of trees here, all sorts of them, from the little lilies to the huge secular sakura ones.

"How did you know this place C.C.?" He asked, bending down to look at the clusters of bright purple geraniums. Just looking at these delightful flowers could put his mind at ease almost immediately.

"C.C.?" He asked, turning around when he heard no responses from her. And to his surprise, he saw that she wasn't paying any attention to the blooming trees, but instead staring down at the two graves located beneath the shadowy old and enormous cheery tree with something in her eyes that he couldn't quite put his finger on yet.

"So what did you bring us to this place for?" He said as he walked toward her, stopping when he was standing beside the girl.

"Lelouch," she replied quietly, "want to hear a story?"

"Story? About what?"

She then turned to him, and a sad smile crept up her face. "The history of these two graves."

_Not quite a cheerful topic now is it? _he thought to himself, but nodded anyway. "Alright, let's hear it."

C.C. turned her gaze back ahead at the depressing sight. A gust of wind gently blew by as she started telling her story. "Very long ago, under the reign of Emperor Tenji which was around the year of 661, there was this peaceful, small village located near the East Coast of Japan named Pearl. The governor of that village was a gently and kind man, who loved his people like his own children and treated them all equal, despite their ranks and status, thus he was loved in return by his citizens.

"He had a beautiful wife who also shared his great personality. Together they gave birth to a daughter, whom the Old People had said was a fairy in the past life. Needless to say they loved her so much yet they never spoiled her; they taught her many right things about being a good person, a decent human. They said that she should never look down on people who were inferior to her, and that she should treat them equal like her parents did."

"Sounds like a happy family living in peace there," commented Lelouch.

C.C. smiled wryly. "But life has never been fair, right Lelouch? Who could have thought that when the little girl turned sixteen, everything changed. An evil, cruel man came to the village one night, and because he possessed some kind of dark magic, he managed to turn the people against their own governor-"

"Wait, hold on," Lelouch said, cutting off C.C.'s story-telling. "Are you telling me magic really _does _exist?" He asked, raising one questioning eyebrow.

"Who knows? Some people are fortunate to be born with it, but there has never been a lot like them around."

The raven-haired teen gave a nod, suggesting her to continue. "And then," she went on, "by casting dark magic on the villagers, the man managed to get rid of the current governor and took the title to himself."

She then stopped to turn to face Lelouch. "Do you want to know how the family was executed?"

Hesitantly, the raven-haired teen nodded slightly. "The husband and the wife were tied tightly to the stakes, blindfolded. Then, the villagers would first start throwing sharp rocks at them, ignoring their painful cries begging them to stop. After that, they would set the hays around the couple on fire, letting awfully agonizing death drift to them slowly. Yes, they were burned alive."

By now, Lelouch was staring at her as though he had trouble seeing her. "That… That was so cruel. How could they? And how come I've never read about this in historic documents?"

"Because that man said no records were to be taken for this late governor's family."

"How'd you know about that?" Asked Lelouch incredulously.

C.C. closed her golden orbs slowly as she answered. "This story was passed down from generation to generation in the small town where I was raised. My grandma told me about it when I was still a child."

"I see, please continue."

* * *

(Meanwhile)

"A what?" Suzaku asked weakly.

"A spirit," replied Cecile firmly. "Are you sure your friend gets paler everyday yet he doesn't feel any sickness?"

Suzaku nodded slowly, gulping.

Heaving a small sigh, the blue-haired woman said. "Then it _is _a doing of a spirit, Suzaku."

"Impossible. Aren't spirits supposed to be… I don't know, invisible or something?"

"It's true, but sometimes the deceased people still have some unfinished business in this world and they can't leave until it's all settled."

"I can't believe it," groaned the brown-haired teen as he slid down a little bit in his chair. "But why Lelouch?"

Cecile shook her head. "That, I don't know. Did this Lelouch guy do something bad to a girl before?"

"Of course not. I've been his friends forever, I know he isn't that type; he'd never hurt anyone."

"Then we've met dead end. Perhaps there's some connection between them?" Cecile suggested helpfully.

"I really don't know. But lately, he seems as though he's on the verge of turning into a bloodsucker with his skin getting paler and paler. Not to mention, he occasionally has these annoying, irritating headaches." Suzaku said.

"This is bad, he must stop seeing her or else he'd die."

"Die?"

"Yes, the more he spends time with this girl, the more he'd most likely get his soul sucked out piece by piece."

"So, she's like a bad, evil spirit?"

"We can't say that for sure. But Suzaku, humans and spirits are never meant to be together." Explained Cecile sadly.

"I know that sounds very unscientific," Lloyd chimed in in his usual cheerful, carefree tone, "but what Cecile said here is right. You can't see her, can you? No one can except the one she wants to show herself to."

"I have to warn Lelouch!" Suzaku exclaimed as he bolted up from his seat. "Cecile-san, can you give me a ride?"

"Eh? Do you know where they are?"

"That doesn't matter. They always meet at the bus stop. At least, that's where he says they often see each other."

* * *

"What about the girl? Was her life spared?" Lelouch asked with a tinge of hope in his voice; he couldn't bear the image of a young, beautiful maiden got burned cruelly on a stake.

C.C.'s gave a nod, her eyes never faltered from the two dark graves. "Her punishment was worse though; she had to witness her parents got tortured while couldn't do anything to prevent it. Being totally helpless and powerless, it was such a horrible feeling. After the horrid execution, the heartless man announced that the girl was to be his wife, no objections, no delays." C.C. gave a dry chuckle. "Can you believe she had to have a marriage right after her parents' death? She didn't even have the time to bury them properly."

"The villagers wouldn't do the burial for them?" Lelouch asked in shock.

"You honestly think that even if they still had some senses in them, the new governor would let them do such thing? He said to leave the burnt corpses there in the field and that they could be sufficient scare crows."

The raven-haired teen shook his head in disgust. "Unbelievable…"

"It was like Hell for the young maiden the following years," C.C. continued, "having to leave with a man whom she had no feelings for except deep, unforgivable hatred for the rest of her life, that's much worse than death itself. But she had to choice but to bear with it.

"Until one night when the monster came home very late all drunk, he started to beat her up because she didn't stay awake to wait for his return like she's supposed to."

"Did he even _love _her?"

"I doubt it. All he ever aimed for was money, power, status and obedience of people. He only married her because she's the most the beautiful girl in the whole village, and because of her father's rank in the Empire.

"That night, after the terrible, inhumane abuse, the girl decided her patience had worn out, and she could no longer live like this…"

"Don't tell me…"

"That's right, she took her own life by hanging herself."

"But she was so young!"

"I believe in her point of view, death seemed pretty much like paradise compared to the life she was living in. Besides, she missed her parents and had always hoped to follow them the moment they were tied to the stakes."

"Her wish was fulfilled, wasn't it?"

"Not quite. Some of the villagers who weren't influenced by the dark magic secretly took the bodies of the governor and his wife far away to a place without any disturbances to bury them, thus even after death, the young girl couldn't reunite with her elders."

"Then where was she buried?"

"In the backyard of her house; her husband wanted her to rest there."

"I see. So what happened to the man after that?"

"Not long after, he remarried to this woman, who had murdered him soon after on her boyfriend's behalf." C.C. couldn't help laughing, despite how tragic and ironic the story seemed. "Isn't it funny that he was the cause of his late wife's demise, yet he was killed by his second wife's hand?"

"I-I don't find it funny... It's pretty sad, actually." Lelouch commented drily.

"For the people who understood the situation and lived it, it was a rather entertaining tale, I'd say."

"I agreed, he's got what he had coming. But to say that it's funny, it's a little bit too much. Everyone deserves to live to their fullest." Said Lelouch quietly.

"Oh? I didn't know you're quite a philosophy."

"I just learned it from a certain someone," the raven-haired teen replied, winking.

C.C. let a smirk cross her face.

"So, tell me," Lelouch said, "what happened to the village after that? Did it go back to the way it should be or did it get destroyed?"

"You see, there was a war going on in Japan that year, and that village was one of the places with the weakest defense. Needless to say, the enemy crushed it easily at the first try and the reinforcements didn't arrive on time."

Her gaze then traveled downwards. "The sane villagers were going to take the girl's corpse to bury it with her parents', but since the war kept dragging on, that was the last thing on everyone's mind…"

"In other words, even at the end, she didn't get the chance to be with her family."

"That's right," C.C. nodded solemnly.

Lelouch looked about him, his eyes then focused on a tall, ancient-looking building, which he made out a temple immediately. "The temple over there," he said, pointing toward the sight, "was it built by the villagers when they buried the governor's family here?"

C.C. turned her head to the left to stare straight at where he's indicating. "Hm, for so many decades, the good monks have taken care of these two graves in the memory of the kind-hearted governor."

Suddenly, Lelouch felt a wave of sadness wash over him. To be lying down there, deep down undergrounds with no sunlight for all eternity, it must be very cold and damp, but at least there were two of them, so it shouldn't be too lonely and too terrible. However, for a young girl to be in such a situation, it was indeed a horrid nightmare – a nightmare she could never wake up from.

Without warning and totally unexpected, a hand was intertwined with his, causing him to let out a surprise gasp. Looking down, he found it was C.C.'s. "C.C…"

"Can we…just stay like this for a while?"

Staring at her with full curiosity but he decided not to ask any questions and to simply return the favor. Nodding, his hand squeezed hers tightly and a wave of warmth surged through his entire body. "Did your grandma tell you about this place so you can visit when you grow up?" He asked.

C.C. closed her golden orbs. "The Old People told me about it. I wanted to see how they're buried and if they're being tended properly. And from the looks of things, everything seems more perfect than I had anticipated."

"As long as the temple's still there and the cherry tree here, these two graves will be protected from the strong winds and storms."

"I hope so."

As if on cue, a gust of wind blew past the young teens, causing Lelouch to shudder violently. Why did the wind have to pick up right at this moment? And why did the headache have to choose that moment to torment him? He wasn't planning to let go of the hand he's holding on to any time soon. Perhaps he could try to bear with the light dizziness, like he did sometimes, and stayed here with her a little longer. The wind, it wasn't much of a problem.

However, his mask couldn't fool C.C.'s eyes, for she turned around with hands clutching the jacket that he lent her the other day, and said. "Let's go home, Lelouch." Her light yellow kimono blew gently in the wind.

"Are you sure? We won't be able to come here as often as you want."

She shook her head slightly. "It's all right, I've seen enough. Let's go home." Her voice was so strangely soft, and there was something in her golden orbs that Lelouch couldn't put his finger on before, but now he could: a longing, satisfied feeling.

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**A/N: **Pheww, I'm soo glad I got this chapter done after the first week of school! Now there's only one more left to go, I'm both excited and sad lol. Excited because this story would be the first long one that I've actually stuck to and get it done, and not put it on hiatus :) Sad because it's been quite fun writing it, and now it's time to put an end down, so I just kind of have this depressing feeling in the pit of my stomach. :'|

Alright hopefully I can get the last chapter up by next Saturday too, and I'm so proud that I kept my promise to update on weekend this time ^^ Ok, enough of my babbles, hope you guys liked this chapter as well. Thank you soo much for reading and of course what comes next would be: reviews are loved much!


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you for the reviews and the patience!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass.**

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"Hey! Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry!"

"Lelouch, pull over."

"Why? I'm fine."

"No, you're not. Pull over." Her voice was so determined and firm that he had no choice but to obey her command.

Pulling the car up to the curb, Lelouch slowly let his hands slide off the wheel, weariness evident on his face. It was early evening when they were driving back from the secret place that only C.C. knew of, it seemed. The sun was already in the process of setting down, heralding the end of the day, though it wasn't tremendously late. In this season, however, five o'clock p.m. could give an impression of eight o'clock, thus it wasn't much of a surprise. Therefore, Lelouch was assured that he would make it to his night class in time.

The bright reddish rays of sunlight were streaming in the car windows, occasionally blinding the driver as he drove. Nevertheless, that wasn't the cause for his almost bumping into a truck driving from the opposite direction, in the completely different lane. True that the rays blinded him at some point and he could hardly see anything up ahead, but to swerve the car entirely to the left lane, which he wasn't supposed to be in, was not the doing of the sunset lights.

Ever since he left the place and got into the car, his head had been torturing him as though it had a mind of its own. Lelouch felt like his nerves were cracking and all the veins were popping on his forehead, literally. He could actually tell that they were on the verge of exploding, giving an unbelievable headache as a warning. Even with all of that, he thought he may overcome it and gritting his teeth tightly, he made no complaints as he pulled the car away from the parking lot.

Not as he'd hoped though, his mind didn't want to give its master a chance to cool down and relax as the constant dizziness kept visiting, to the point Lelouch wanted to bump his head into a rough wall to get it over with. The horrible numbness, accompanying with the brightened sunlight, almost led him to his untimely death. With his vision becoming blurry all of a sudden and the tiredness surged through his body, Lelouch had let go of the wheel involuntarily, resulting in the car cut completely to the left, and had it not been for the callings of C.C., his passenger, the unwanted collide scene would have been unfolded.

Now, sitting back in a relax pose as the car was parked near the curb, Lelouch had never felt so safe before in his life with the knowledge that he wouldn't make an easy target for other vehicles. Slowly closing his violet orbs, he thought of taking a short nap, both trying to get his brain in order and to stop the murderous headache.

To his right, the green-haired girl was looking at him with saddened eyes, accompanied by an unreadable expression on her pretty face. She hesitantly reached out her hand trying to comfort him, but then quickly pulled back as she bit down her lower lip. Slowly averting her eyes ahead, she saw that, by some miracle, they had almost arrived at the usual bus stop. Glancing back at the young man, she made up her mind.

"Lelouch?"

"Hm?"

"Go home."

He reluctantly opened his eyes as he turned to face her. "What?"

"The bus stop is up ahead, I will walk there, so you should just go home."

He brought up his hand to wipe the sleepy eyes with his knuckles, saying. "I was planning to take you home. What's the point of going to that bus stop again?"

She shook her head, "No, just drop me here."

"Why?"

Heaving a small sigh, C.C. knew it was useless arguing with him, even at this exhausting state, he still proved to be pretty stubborn. Besides her mind was already made, so without another word, she unbuttoned her seatbelt, opened the door and stepped out, much to his surprise.

"Wait, C.C.!" Lelouch called, trying to grab her arm but it's too late. "Oi! Where are you going?"

"Told you I'm heading to the bus stop," she replied, not looking back at him once.

"Why would you even- Urg!" Sounding frustrated, he hastily turned off the engine, unbuckled his own seatbelt and stepped out. She was already ten feet away from him, and her pace was quite quick for someone dressed in a kimono.

Ignoring the outrageous pain in his head, he sprinted toward her, threw out his arm to catch hers, and succeeded. That was when he felt a complete whiteness engulf him, causing him to fall to the ground on his knees, his hands numb. "What the…" he muttered.

And the vicious wind chose that exact moment to pick up. This time, it carried nothing but the sharp coldness with it, much to Lelouch's displeasure in this horrible state.

With her two long, silky strands of hair that framed her face blew gently in the wind, C.C. turned around slowly on her heels, bangs temporarily covered half of her upper face. She then walked back toward him, who looked as though his soul was sucked out entirely with his skin got unbelievably pale. When she was in front of him, she bent down slightly and touched his face, tilting it up to level with her eyes.

"What's happening to me, C.C.?" Lelouch asked slowly. His voice was merely a whisper and it sounded so strangely weak. To be honest, he didn't know why he asked her, there's no way she would know what's wrong with him. How could she, right?

"Lelouch, do you want to be with me?" She inquired softly, ignoring his question.

"Of course I do… Didn't I say we're… soulmates?" How ridiculous it was that he found it unusually difficult to speak. He also felt inexplicably sleepy, to boot.

The corner of her lips jerked up slightly when she heard that. "You won't regret it?" Her hand slowly caressing his face.

"Of course… I won't… But what makes… you ask all… of that?" And, how ridiculous it was that he found he could no longer form long, complex sentences. Perhaps because that took too much effort and energy while he's trying to preserve both of them.

"You're the person just for me, Lelouch," she continued, "I've been waiting at that bus stop for so long for that person to come. You almost made me lose all the hopes I have left."

"You've... been… waiting… for me?"

"For an extremely long time. I've left this world without being truly loved for who I am, and the Old People said that if I waited for the person just for me to come, he'd take me to the place I desired most. After that, the decision rests with us."

"I… don't… understand what… you're…saying." He didn't even possess enough strength to shake his head. Though at the end, he managed to, but very slightly. "Left… the world? Your… special… person? The latter I can… understand, but… the former I… don't…" Then, unexpectedly, his lungs tightened hard to the point he had to inhale air through his mouth.

"You will, soon." Suddenly, her hand stopped dead in its process of stroking his face. Narrowing her golden orbs, she moved her hand down to his chest and placed it gently at where his heart located.

"You love your sister so much, don't you?" C.C. remarked.

He nodded. Excessively sleepy and unable to breathe normally. He was really frightened now.

"You don't want to leave her all alone in this world and you hate to see her sad." She said, and earned another nod from him once again. Remembering what he'd told her some days ago, her hand trembled at the memories and his words, 'If it weren't for my sister, I wouldn't be here…' He had been fighting fate to live peacefully with his little sister to this day, so did she have any right to separate them? And didn't she say he had to value his life?

Quickly retreating her hand, she stood up, smiling slightly. All at once, Lelouch felt a wave of fresh air wash over him, and how amazing it was to be able to inhale and exhale normally again through his nostrils. He took in some deep breaths and let them out slowly as if trying to cherish the moments.

"Thank you for everything, Lelouch," said C.C. as she looked down at him. The gentle smile never faltered from her face.

"Why does it sound like you're saying good-bye?" He asked, frowning. How good it felt that he could speak like any ordinary people now.

"Live wel-"

"Lelouch!" A familiar voice called out from behind him, causing him to turn his head around and found it was Suzaku. Was it him or did his best friend sound really frantic?

"Get away from her!" Suzaku yelled, running with full speed toward the couple.

He couldn't move or say anything. Lelouch had suspected C.C.'s true identity ever since they had visited the place, and after what had happened today, there was absolutely no doubt about it. Nevertheless, he didn't want to believe it at all. He was trying to convince himself that his mind was playing a cruel trick on him.

"Run away Lelouch!" He was so close now.

That's when the raven-haired teen felt something warm in front of him. Quickly spinning his head around, he was puzzled by the scene unfolding before his own eyes.

There, just feet from him was the image of a young girl engulfed in radiant golden lights. The pink sakura petals used to clip her bun and keep it in place fell down, thus setting her long green hair loose to flow freely in the wind. Her golden orbs were staring down at him and it seemed that the sadness always evident in them vanished instantly, and replacing it was a joyous and satisfactory feeling. Seemed like her unfinished business was settled.

"No…" Lelouch whispered. He stood up unsteadily on his feet, reaching out one hand toward her, eyes widening as if his brain had shut down and he had great difficulty trying to comprehend what's going on. "No…"

C.C. was flying away to the high blue skies. The bright lights had hidden most of her features, but Lelouch could make out the usual lovely smirk of hers and one delicate hand was reaching out toward him, too, as if she were also trying to grasp him.

Mustering all the strength he had left, he shouted out, sounding hysterical. "No! C.C.!"

His hand grabbed nothing but empty, cold air.

"Thank you for everything, Lelouch. Without you, I would never be able to rest in peace," she said softly.

"What are you doing Lelouch!" A strong hand placed on the raven-haired teen's arm and pulled him back. Apparently, it was Suzaku's.

"Don't go C.C.! Don't leave me!" He cried. Tears were spilling out freely from the corners of his eyes; he couldn't care less about the theory that men weren't supposed to cry so easily.

"Lelouch, stop it!"

"Thanks for everything…" She was flying far away now, her figure was fading as the light brightened, and finally the only things visible were the silhouette of her beautiful hair and her outstretched right arm. "…Lelouch…"

"No!"

"Lelouch! Don't do it!"

"Live well and good bye…"

"C.C.!"

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Lelouch's eyes fluttered open slowly. At first, his vision was such a blur that he could hardly make out anything before him. Closing his eyes once more, he waited a few seconds for them to adjust properly, and opened again.

At last, he was able to see more clearly this time. It seemed he was lying down and it felt soft and comfortable beneath him. Up above was the low, woodened ceiling that he recognized all at once: his flat's ceiling. Turning his head slowly to the left, he saw a work table located near the closet. The lamp on it was turned on, filling the room with warm light. And he knew he was back at his apartment, lying in the futon of his.

Looking to his right, he made out a small bookshelf which was full of all sorts of books that he'd collected throughout the years. Finally, he forced his eyes to focus on the figure sitting cross-legged next to him.

"Suzaku…" He whispered.

"You're awake. How are you feeling?" His friend's voice was so stern and all serious.

Lelouch turned his head back to its original spot. "My head's throbbing."

"No other signs of illness?"

"No."

"Good. Listen, you don't have to go to school for a few days, I'll try to reason with the professors to let you take a couple of days off."

Nodding his head, the raven-haired teen brought up his arm to cover the upper right side of his face, his bangs disheveled. "How long was I out?"

"Three hours. Shirley came by half an hour ago to see how you're doing. She said she'd made some miso soup for you."

"She left?"

"Yeah."

"I see."

A pause.

Then Suzaku cleared his throat, saying. "Well, anyway, you should rest more. I'll go get the soup ready for you. It's really good."

"Ne, Suzaku," Lelouch began, his voice was even lower than a whisper and Suzaku had to lean in a little bit to be able to hear, "it's just a dream right?"

The brown-haired teen said nothing. His face showed no expressions.

"Because it's impossible to fall in love with a spirit right?" Lelouch continued, his voice croaked. Tears were threatening to spill out once more. "And spirits aren't real... right?"

"Rest, Lelouch." And with that, Suzaku stood up to walk toward the door. Opening it, he gave his best friend one quick worried glance before closing it soundlessly behind him.

Alone in the familiar room, the raven-haired teen wasn't bothered at all by the eerie silence surrounded him; he wanted absolute isolation at the moment.

With eyes still glued to the ceiling above, he whispered before shutting his violet orbs tightly. "It's not possible, right C.C.?" A line of purely white pearls made their ways downward from the corners of his eyes. "Just a dream…"

There, lay in his slightly balled hand was a bright, beautiful and elegant pink sakura petal.

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**~end~**

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**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING!**

I'd like to insert something here since I couldn't find a proper place to explain it in the story: The reason why C.C. waits at the bus stop and not anywhere else is because that's where her grave is, and the house behind the bus stop is where her house used to be. So she has to be where she was buried. Hope that clears up some confusion.

And now, to the more important part. I've got an inspiration for this story from one of xxxHolic's episodes. xxxHolic was made by CLAMP, who did the designs for Code Geass. In my opinion, it is really an amazing show, it teaches us many valuable things in life and the cast is lovable. The art is just pretty and unique, as expected of CLAMP. So, to any of you who didn't watch it yet, I strongly recommend it to you, you won't regret it! And to boot, the main character of the show was also voiced by our favorite Code Geass's main character's voice actor! That's one thing that hooked me up the most hehe.

**Random Reviewer: **Hehe, I'd like to make Lelouch gentle yet firm at the same time. In R2, before he gets his memories back, he's such an ordinary student, and it's unbelievably cute. I love the way he treats Rolo, all loving and protective and gentle, like a real big brother. After the incident, however, you know how he turns out :( So yes, I'd love to alter Lelouch a little bit, though manage to keep him in character.

And finally the story has come to an end, I'd like to thank all my readers. Without you, the story wouldn't have come this far, so thanks a tons for reading! And of course reviews are always loved!


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